After avoiding the drop to Serie C, the club celebrates but management immediately plans for a future involving market moves, contract renewals, and structural changes.
What now? The celebration lasted just one night, because from today, the future is already here. First deadline: buy-out options. By tomorrow, decisions must be made on the future of Abiuso (buy-out clause set at 1.5 million euros), Curto (same situation with Como: 500 thousand euros needed), and Sibilli. Of the three, Sibilli is decidedly the closest to staying with Sampdoria, as his buy-out clause with Bari is set at 500 thousand euros. The same forward said last night at the Arechi stadium that once they hit rock bottom in Castellammare di Stabia on May 13, when the final league match decreed the team`s fall to Serie C (for the first time in 79 years), everything that followed was approached with greater serenity. “We were no longer afraid, we were free.” This state of mind was almost palpable even from outside the team, because paradoxically, the first leg of the playout at the Ferraris (with 32 thousand spectators) delivered Sampdoria`s best performance of the season, confirmed by yesterday`s display in Campania. A team that managed to shake off negative thoughts, and aided by excellent physical condition, endured this extra month of work without difficulty.
Moving Forward
Certainly, the squad will largely need to be rebuilt, considering many players` contracts are expiring or their dry loans will see them return to their respective clubs from July 1: from Yepes to Bereszynski, from Borini to the unfortunate Cragno, from Niang (sure to leave) to Beruatto (the separation was also bitter with him), from Oudin to Veroli and Akinsanmiro, who belongs to Inter. And then there`s the coach situation: the work done by Evani and Lombardo (but also by Gregucci, Invernizzi, and Andrea Mancini, who returned to his old role as sporting director) was fundamental even on a mental level. “Great group managers, they played at the highest levels and were able to transmit serenity to us,” admitted a very happy Sibilli. This is why now, beyond the push from the fans who want them all confirmed for next season, president Manfredi is evaluating the situation to reach a decision quickly. But it is undeniable that Evani`s candidacy is strong (“who wouldn`t want to coach Samp…”, he admitted after the return playout). There is a team to rebuild, a training camp to find quickly, a Serie B transfer market to plan with significant delay, and the transfer campaign to finalize quickly. Very tight deadlines on all fronts, but the message coming from Sampdoria is that this journey to hell and back in just forty days has completely purified the environment and the club from past errors, giving it a self-confidence it never had before.
Revolution
It`s difficult to understand today if and what will change in the club`s top roles. President Manfredi admitted that delegating much of the managerial duties to third parties did not produce positive effects. On the contrary, the relegation of the Primavera and the simultaneous fall of the Women`s team showed that almost everything was wrong. And if Accardi has his responsibilities regarding choices related to the first team, for the other errors, responsibilities lie elsewhere. But not all evils… with what follows. Sampdoria, you can bet, will learn from the mistakes of a disastrous season to approach the start of the third consecutive year of the new Serie B with lost ambitions regained. The Asian financier of the club has guaranteed to continue injecting liquidity into the company, also because his investment – over one hundred million to date – has not yielded results so far. In short, the conditions are there to do well next season, which is already almost around the corner. With an added positive aspect: the fanbase has also united around the club and will continue to be close to Sampdoria in the future. This salvation is a treasure: on and off the field.
